Water challenge spurs firms to act

Published on by in Business

Water challenge spurs firms to act

Thousands of tilapia fish are swimming in huge blue tanks here in the old Hamm Brewery on St. Paul's East Side. Overhead, steel racks hold planters sprouting kale, cilantro and Swiss chard, their roots immersed in water pumped from the fish tanks.

But what is most compelling about the effort to create an indoor aquaculture operation in the old brewery is, oddly enough, that it uses surprisingly little water.

Most operations like it lose up to a quarter of the water they bring in. This one loses just 2 percent, said Fred Haberman, one of the backers of the company launching the effort, Urban Organics.

"It's all about water," said Haberman. "The efficient use of water is what makes this work. This will be a key component of re-imagining a new agricultural system."

Making better use of water is a lesson dawning on lots of people, from Minnesota to drought-stricken areas like California and Texas to parts of the world chronically short of water. Urban Organics is an example of how that is becoming increasingly recognized as an opportunity for Minnesota businesses.

The Twin Cities is one of many metropolitan areas vying for a lead in what seems likely to become one of the most important businesses in coming decades: supplying and conserving clean water.

In many parts of the United States water shortages are having an increasing effect on everyday life and development.

"It's beginning to be a constraint on economic growth," said Steve Maxwell, managing director of TechKNOWLEDGEy Strategic Group, which provides consulting and services to the environmental and water resource industries.

"We're beginning to reach a situation where the amount of water owned or allocated to users is less than the demand. And we're going to be paying more for it. We need to wake up to that fact."

Worldwide by 2025, the United Nations estimates nearly two billion people will live in regions where there is not enough water. Billions more people will experience off and on water shortages or have tainted water of limited value and use.

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